Recognition, However Small

 As we go through life we often take on tasks for which we get no recognition. Some of them are done for fun and others are required of us. Some are even a combination of both.  

Take, for instance, the books I read for authors and publishers. I am given these publications for free in exchange for a review. Most of the time I consider that a privilege. I enjoy reading and it doesn't cost me anything to take advantage of this opportunity.  I am allowed to express an opinion,  and believe me, if I don’t enjoy the book, for whatever reason, I will definitely tell you.

Recently I had the chance to read a pre-publication copy of Across the Shining Sea by Hunter Chadwick. It was not the first book from this author that I have read, and I'm sure it won't be the last.  This book is the first in a series of three, but they will be complete stories, independent of the others. Across the Shining Sea is now available for pre-order on Amazon. 

But what I am here to tell you about today is that this author chose to quote my review in his latest newsletter and on his web page. That tickles me, as just yesterday, I was told that the painting I did for the contest I told you about last fall is now appearing on the information screen at the local health centres.  Even though I did not win the contest, or go into any great description of a good book, I am feeling recognized. It's a great way to start my year.

Grinch Mode Reving Up!

 I'm often in Grinch mode at Christmas but this year I just wore the t-shirt once. That was more of a fun thing than me actually being Ginchy. Christmas has simplified a lot over the years, and I do appreciate that. it's not all good as I do miss my family gathering, but I am getting to an age where it can be more than I can handle.

The buying of gifts seems to be a bigger chore every year.  Not only do I have mostly men to buy for (and what do they want anyway?) but I don’t drive and hardly got to any stores this year.  I had to resort to online shopping.  Oh, and the post office decided to go on strike, just to make matters worse. (Oops, sorry. I seem to be slipping into my Grinch mode for some reason). 

I accidently found what I considered to be the perfect gift for my eldest grandson. I ordered it at what I thought was a good price and paid even more for expedited shipping.  The delivery date then turned out to be about three weeks away. That is certainly not my idea of expedited!  The delivery date came and went. Nothing arrived. I contacted the seller to express my concern and complain about paying so much for expedited shipping for nothing.  They offered me 15% off but when I asked if the product would arrive before Christmas, they could not guarantee that.  I looked on Amazon and found what I wanted there so I cancelled the original order.  

The Amazon version was going to cost me three times more but I really wanted this for my grandson and it was getting too late to dream up something else.  I put it in an order with 4 other things, all of which arrived in a timely manner.....except for this one elusive thing for my grandson.

A bug has hit our house now so there will be no more shopping in even the local stores.  When my son drove 2 hours to drop off gifts and pick up what I had for them, he didn't dare come in. The gift for his oldest son had still not arrived, though it was scheduled to show up that very day.  News flash!  It's still not here though tracking shows it left Etobicoke a few days ago.  Oh, and now Amazon is asking for a review before it even gets here!  The latest  estimate is that it will arrive December 24.  I'm not holding my breath, but you might notice I am starting to turn green. I cannot even blame that on my current illness.

The Rest of the Story

 

It's been a while since my last blog post. I was telling you about the roadblocks I was putting in my own way. I had a project to do and I was procrastinating.

An acquaintance that I see occasionally told me about an art contest being put on by the Rideau Community Health Services. They wanted artwork that would help them celebrate and promote a welcoming, inclusive community. They mentioned such things as diversity, equality and advocacy . I immediately  had several ideas so I thought I might take a stab at it. This idea of entering contests is new to me this year, and while I never expected to win anything, it still gave me a target to aim for.

I would have told you all this sooner but I wanted to post the results. There were three prizes. I didn't win but I also have no idea who did. I even inquired about the results but got nothing but an automated response saying they received my message and would get back to me. They never did.  All I do know is that I am the only one who entered from this area. It would be really nice to see the winning entries but I will, at least, show you mine.  

I may not have won this contest but I feel like a winner anyway. I dared to do something I have never done before and am apparently the only person in a village full of accomplished artists who even submitted an entry.  I'm proud to have taken another step forward in my art journey, and I did have fun, once I got started.

Roadblocks

 Do you ever get excited about a new project idea and then never get it done because you have created roadblocks for yourself?

A couple of months ago I thought I had at least a fair chance of getting a piece of my art into a local show. There was a theme that I really identified with, and I had an idea that I figured would be different from everyone else's, so it might stand a chance. I set about creating a piece, thinking I might make as many as three. The first one was going very well, and then I hit a snag. I had to make a decision on how to finish it.  The piece was done in black and white. Was I going to leave the background the blank white paper? Quite possibly. I also had to add one more element in order to finish it. But I liked what I had accomplished so much I put up a roadblock. I couldn't finish because I was suddenly afraid to ruin what I had done so far.

Now I have been given the opportunity to get in on something I consider even more important than a local show. If I managed to create a successful piece it would be shown in a place that would be uplifting to people in need of some sort of encouragement.  I got a couple of ideas on how to handle this project. I settled on one that excited me the most and did the prep work. Suddenly, for some strange reason, I seem to be busy setting up all kinds of roadblocks. This feels like far more than simple procrastination. Instead of my usual, full steam ahead and thinking the journey is more important than the destination, I'm almost afraid to put that first mark on the paper.  Maybe it's because this time I actually have a destination for this thing in mind. I'm not sure I can climb over this hurdle, but I still have more than a month to give it a try.

Normally I'm the one encouraging people who wish they could draw or paint to just do it. Don't be afraid, just have fun, I say. I even encourage those who do art, not to hide it. Put it out there, I tell them. Goodness knows I post everything I do, no matter how badly I think it turns out. Strangely, the pieces I'm most ashamed of seem to get a better response than the ones I'm actually proud of. Go figure! So, I should just get busy and attack this project...have fun with it, and just see what happens. Maybe tomorrow I will find the strength to move that roadblock out of the way. Wish me luck.

The Occurrence

 Something occurred in my tiny village recently that many people have not discovered yet. I only found out about it because of a message I got from a long-time cyber buddy who lives in Bancroft. 

Those who live here are aware of a construction project on the north side of the river that has been underway for several years now. While a couple of units have occupants the rest of the building remained empty and even had a broken window. The west end of the building now contains a puzzle factory and shop.

When I found out about this, I went to explore the shop. The puzzles are bright and beautiful, and the owner is delightful.

Brigitte Gall and Michael J Bainsbridge got this idea to create puzzles in 2018 while living through a cold snap in Haliburton. Michael is an award-winning mineral photographer so they picked out some of his photos and had their new business up and running just before the pandemic hit.  I'd call that perfect timing. He now works at the Museum of Nature so they moved in this direction and settled in Kemptville. While looking for a suitable place to set up the factory and shop they found this spot in Merrickville  at 105 West Broadway Street. 

I was lucky enough to be shown how the puzzles were made and packaged up, as they do everything right there on the premises.  The pictures, glued to their backing, are placed on a sturdy foam rubber and run through a press that exerts 7000 pounds of pressure. This compresses the foam, allowing precision steel blades to cut the picture into puzzle pieces. It only takes seconds. The pieces are then manually scooped up, bagged, and boxed. Only high-quality materials are used and a total of 150 puzzles can be produced in a day. 

The company states its goal is to appeal to fellow science nerds and like-minded art geeks. They not only have puzzles made from photos taken by Michael, but they also have some fascinating ones representing various towns. Multimedia artist, Alice Hinther has produced pieces containing a conglomeration of recognizable buildings. There are puzzles representing Perth and Westport, for instance.  Rumour has it there will be one of Merrickville soon too.

And just in case you would like to make a puzzle out of art of your own, they do that too.

The new business is called The Occurrence and they are having their grand opening on July 27. Go check it out!

Not All Changes Are Good

 What's going on with the Fast Food industry?

First, Tim Hortons got sold and the first thing that happened was that nothing was the same but the name.  And just like that, many people started going elsewhere for their coffee and treats.  Why the new owners killed something so iconic is beyond me.

McDonald's suddenly had McCafe, which turned out to be cheaper than going to Tim Hortons. And since my Dutchies disappeared and tea in pots got replaced with swill called Steeped Tea, we moved ourselves to McDonald's. The muffins there were great.

Then our favourite lunch spot, Wendy's in Brockville, closed down and built themselves a new, much smaller venue. The food was still good, but suddenly the ambiance was gone and, if we were able to get a seat at all, there was no privacy to discuss things. 

Most of the newly built fast food places, no matter which franchise, have opted for one or two unisex toilets instead of the usual separate rooms with multi stalls. This creates lineups and gives women a better idea why men's rooms used to have urinals. Now we have to be more wary of splattered seats and floors. 

Recently our local McDonald's closed for renovations. When it reopened it was a shock to my system the first time I walked through the door. It was totally unrecognizable. Then we discovered another McDonald's in Stittsville that was a carbon copy. The order desks are not visible from the entrance. There is nobody at the cash and it takes time before we are even noticed. (Normally it's faster to tell someone what you want at the counter than to stand at the machine and poke numerous buttons).  The new furnishings can only be described as utilitarian and I have no faith in them holding up for very long. The tables are not spaced for privacy anymore so I figure maybe five could be used at a time without practically sitting with strangers. The TV's are gone but suddenly there is loud music being piped through speakers. That makes it difficult for people with hearing problems to carry on a conversation, and I'm sure people with sensitivities to sound would just not be able to stay at all.

Ah, maybe that's what all this is about in Wendy's and McDonald's. Maybe they just want drive through and pick up orders instead of people actually meeting up for lunch or snacks inside their establishments. They won't have to clean tables or sweep floors as often, so the staff can be busy making food.

I see Tim Hortons is, at least temporarily, bringing back the Dutchies, SourCream Blueberry Fritters, Walnut  Crunch and Cinnamon Twists again this summer. I have also discovered it is now possible to get my tea in a pot if I ask for it.  I guess it's time to switch back.

Originals

 I'm enjoying this spring as a lot of the old events are returning and I am finally feeling that I can go to them without worrying as much about Covid 19. This week we went to visit the Originals Craft Show in Ottawa. It was always a favourite place to see interesting creations, spark my imagination and pick up a few treats. 

I guess not all the vendors are feeling quite as safe yet as there were several booths used to showcase what you could find at other booths throughout the room. 

I went in intending to pick up a couple of treats we have not had over the past few years, and I got them, along with a couple more. Needless to say, we had charcuterie last night.

I specifically wanted Deb's Crispy Cracker Seasoning Mix and a visit to Little Shop of Lobster. I went with the Crab Mousse this time. I like taste-testing what's offered and was completely sold on Crosswind Farm's Cranberry Orange Artisan Cheese!  It's fabulous! Dear Hubby got to pick something out too. He really liked Carmichael's Bisson meat but brought home the Honey Garlic Pepperoni instead.  It did go well with the cheese and cracker platter and wine that evening.

One of the vendors was a lady who makes dresses out of t-shirts. My brother passed away recently and he had so many cartoon themed t-shirts that he likely could have gotten through a year without ever repeating which one he wore (if he wore each one for more than one day). I got her card as she will make a custom dress for me for the same price as the ones she has already made. I just have to give her the five shirts required to do so. Now I just have to decide what colour I want and start sorting. 

The other thing I wanted the moment I saw it was little shelves made out of logs. I wracked my brain trying to figure out where I could put one. I have a small house and it just won't hold any more furniture, but I thought his simple Burnt Log Designs were wonderful.

The only thing that would have made my day better would be if I had not forgotten to pick up some lemon squares from BC before we left!